Building a real woodworker's workbench

Step 27 The bench, step one - joing the top and base

With the top laying on the floor, bottom side up, the next step is to flip the base upside down, and attach it to the top. I followed Asa Christiana's design, in using s-clips. When I stopped by my local Woodcraft, though, they only had two packages of ten, so I didn't use as many as I would have, otherwise. For the top I put four on each side and two on each end. For the shelf I put three on each side and two on each end. If it turns out that I need more, I can always add more.

First, line up the base with the top. Then screw it down using the s-clips.

Mount the vise bases, and tighten them down with nuts, washers, and lock-washers.

Flip it on edge, and sand the edges smooth. If you used epoxy to fill voids, as I did, you might want to start with a belt sander. (Or if you're more comfortable with hand tools, you might use a card scraper.) With a random orbital sander, work through 100, 150, and 200 grit. Then flip it over and do the other edge.

After sanding the second edge, clamp the shelf in place, oiled side down. Then flip the bench upside down again, and attach the shelf to the base using s-clips. (You'll need 3/4" self-tapping panhead screws - the screws you used on the top will be too long.)

With the shelf secure, get a couple of friends to come help, and stand the bench on its feet. I said earlier moving the top by yourself is dangerous. Trying to lift the entire bench is foolhardy. Of course, I already said I'm stubborn, so I did it myself by rigging a simple block-and-tackle using lightweight pulleys I got at the hardware store. (Not the lightest-weight pulleys, those are meant for flag poles and have a design load of something like 40 pounds. These had a design load of 420 pounds.)